Full question:
I have been nominated as executor of my mother's Will. My brothers have hired an attorney to contest my mother's nomination. Their attorney has sent me a letter demanding me to immediately forward copies of any and all documents and banking information that I removed from my mother's house. My question is since I shared a joint banking account with my mother, and since I entered my mother's house while I had Durable Power of Attorney, Immediate, she was still alive and had instructed me to, do I have to comply with the attorney's demands or am I protected by the Joint Account and POA.
- Category: Discovery
- Date:
- State: Rhode Island
Answer:
An attorney’s request in a letter is not a formal request that may be enforced in court. However, it is possible that the attorney may later send a request for production of documents or subpoena duces tecum, and you will be required to comply with those requests.
In the discovery process of a lawsuit, a party may request information through interrogatories or a request for production as long as it is reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. A party served with a discovery request may object to the request and ask the court for a protective order to limit or deny the request if it is irrelevant, overbroad, unduly burdensome, or intended for purposes of delay, expense, or harassment. If a party unjustifiably fails to respond timely to a discovery request, the requesting party may ask the court to compel the party to answer and pay costs and sanctions.
The frequency or intent of use of discovery allowed may be limited by the court if it determines that: (i) the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or is obtainable from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive; (ii) the party seeking discovery has had ample opportunity by discovery in the action to obtain the information sought; or (iii) the discovery is unreasonably burdensome or expensive taking into account the needs of the case, the amount in controversy, limitations on the parties' resources, and the importance of the issues at stake in the litigation.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
